This German language DVD adopts an almost exclusively biographical approach
to Pavarotti’s life and career. For obvious reasons it spends most of
its time in Modena, tracing the story of his youth and his first big break.
Refreshingly, it interviews lots of Modenese who were friends of the tenor and
his family. We get a few shots of his holiday home in Pesaro, then and now.
It has a few talking heads to comment on the general narrative, too.

Mirella Freni, his oldest friend, shares some stories about their background
and what it was like to sing with him. Most interestingly, his first wife, Adua,
is featured a lot, giving the low-down on their family life and telling the
story of what it was like when she found out about his affairs. She says she
has more good memories of him than bad, though the acrimony with Nicoletta,
his second wife, is still there; Adua only consented to be in the film if Nicoletta
was not interviewed.

Other talking heads include Joseph Volpe, John Copley and, briefly, Jose Carreras,
who give interesting insights into working with him. These mostly involve personal
anecdotes. Bono turns up a few times too, though he does nothing here to build
up his reputation for erudition and insightfulness. On the whole, though, the
film as a whole is pretty ordinary, verging on the dull. The makers have plenty
of material but they don’t seem able to thread it together into a narrative
that is compelling. The one time they come closest is when various participants
speak of Pavarotti’s ultimate loneliness, but then this is swept over
with little comment.

Most damagingly, the film offers no analysis of his career or musicianship beyond
the very trite, and that’s a real missed opportunity. I’m afraid
there is nothing here that would make me want to see it again.